i "met" Ellen Hartman on here and she is so funny that I just had to pick up one of her books. I was not at all disappointed with "Wanted Man"--very unique storyline and characters that really pulled me in!
But, when I heard that "His Secret Past" was set in New Jersey (yes, I am a Jersey girl!!) and she kind of modeled the hero on Bruce (Bruuuuucce!) I was just SO there!
And I have to say she hits it RIGHT ON! The way she describes the stale beer in cheap little seashore bars and the mythic feel of Asbury Park and the excitement of the shore, not to mention the cool, arty chicness of Hoboken...New Jersey gets a bad rap, but if you want to see how cool New Jersey can be, read Ellen's book!
Even the sort of arty, cool, funny characters seem very true-to-form to me. I love living vicariously through Anna as Mason and she get to know each other!
I just want to seriously thank Ellen for writing this book. It's a wonderful way to kick off the summer (and every good New Jerseyan knows that Memorial Day weekend is when the boardwalk starts to come to life, thus the summer begins!)
In addition to thanking Ellen, I want to say that if you want to take a little trip to New Jersey and see what it is really like OR if you have ever had a fantasy about a rocker falling for you (who hasn't?) then run, do not walk to your bookseller before May is over and pick up this awesome book!
Are you going to include a review for this, too?
So it will go toward the 100,000 goal? After this great , blog post though, you could almost do a "just the facts, ma'am" review LOL.
Penn
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i will do a full review
i will do a full review as soon as i finish reading it!
i am savoring every word though -- between the great descriptions of my homestate and getting to live out my rock n roll fantasy...why would i want it to end? lol!
My Blog
Thank you, Theresa!
What a wonderful, sweet post to see! I'm so glad you're enjoying the book. I took a bunch of pictures of NJ when I was there at Easter this year and put the best ones on my web site. I don't think people know how cool that landscape can be in a gritty, industrial cool kind of way.
The shore...I have so many good memories. (And a few really stupid ones, but hey, I was a teenager and it was the shore.
)
I hope you'll enjoy the rest of Anna and Mason's story!
Have a great weekend,
Ellen
P.S. I could happily watch Bruce sing "Rosalita" live every day for the rest of my life. He's a joyful performer and that's such a fun song--never fails to make me smile.
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08